Hitting baseballs in the batting cage

One of my favorite things to do is to go to the batting cage and swing at a bunch of baseballs and softballs and in the process relieve some stress. I was surprised how quickly I was sweating after swinging my bat at 20-40 baseballs/softballs. I was exerting myself! But I do have to admit that it feels good to hear that crack of a bat after hitting a ball square-on perfectly. If you’re not familiar with the sport of baseball, it’s like cricket so basically it’s a bat-and-ball game that also involves gloves. The only way to score is to hit the ball into play and advance yourself or runners onto the bases (3 of them) and eventually the last plate, home plate, in order to score.

That’s why batting is one of the most important aspects of baseball because that’s the only way to score! Hence many players, whether professional or amateur, practice their batting skills in the batting cages in order to improve their hitting and hand-to-eye coordination.

Here’s an explanation of how the batting cage works:

The object is to hit the ball with the bat…

And after the pitch by the machine…

…and hit the ball! Don’t worry about where the ball goes because you’re in a protective cage.

Here’s my take on the machine.

About to hit the baseball with complete force

Another angle.

After I made contact the ball goes off!

As I said before, a great way to improve hand-to-eye coordination and a little bit of a workout. I must say that hitting balls at 30 miles an hour is completely different at trying to hit balls at 60 or 70 or faster miles per hour. That’s why it’s important to build oneself and get used to the quicker balls by slowly increasing the speed. The first time I tried to hit at 60 miles per hour, I only hit one… and I barely hit it. After going to the cages several times, I finally went back to it and hit about half of them. It all takes practice.

One idea that came to mind when I went years ago was when my friend brought his girlfriend along. He thought that he could impress her by having her doing something completely different and yet, fun at the same time. She didn’t hit very many balls but I could tell that she having fun and that was the most important part of it all. So, for the guys out there, you can take a girl to the batting cages – it might actually be enjoyable for her. But make sure that you practice your swing before taking her otherwise you might look a doofus not knowing anything especially when comes to the “swing” part. Girls like guys to know what they are doing especially if they are experts in something. This is a chance to shine, guys, with that crushing hit on a 70 mile per hour fastball!